Neric Undercover
by whatsintheboxx
Summary: Nell and Eric go undercover as analysts in a large science company to root out a dirty employee. However, this brings up some unfamiliar feelings: will they be able to analyse these themselves or will they need a little help? This fanfiction is Neric, with a little Densi, and it is honestly not as soppy as it sounds. Although it is a teeny bit.
1. Chapter 1

**Ok, this is my second EVER fanfic and my first NCIS LA one, so please be gentle! (I have published this on Wattpad, I am turquoise_probie)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS:Los Angeles or any of the characters in this fanfiction.**

Chapter 1:

Eric whistled loudly "Hetty wants you in OPS. Now!". Sam and Callen raced to the stairs, jogging up them whilst continuing their argument about paperwork. Kensi was soon to follow, with Deeks trailing after her like a puppy, moaning about a restaurant.  
In OPS, Hetty waited for them all to get inside before beginning- 'We are sending two people to the Technologistics building in LA to go undercover as a married couple taking over the recently advertised role of intelligence analysis and assistant analysis. ' Hetty paused for effect, waiting for everybody to catch up. 'I am sending Miss Jones and Mr Beale into this undercover position to act as the married couple, who are presently behind bars for betraying their country. We believe that Mr and Mrs Smith were going to sell international secrets to somebody in the company and we need to find out wh-' 'Why shouldn't it be Kensi and I- we are the undercover specialists' Deeks interrupted. Sam coughed, then muttered to Callen- 'undercover or under the covers specialists?'. Hetty frowned at the interruption then continued 'Mr Deeks, the couple who were going to be employed in Technologistics had a combined IQ of over 250. This is probably how they managed to get the secrets in the first place. They also had past experience in IT. Mr Beale and Miss Jones fit this category perfectly. I realise that they do not have undercover training as such, but their cover is deep, and we will be here supporting them. Any questions?'. The pixie haired intelligence analyst frowned. Her and Eric barely ever left OPS, and last time she did she was almost killed. She was nervous about their cover too. Would acting as a married couple push her over the edge? It definitely changed Kensi and Deeks. 'Good. Now shall we begin assembling your cover?' said Hetty, not allowing any time for Eric or Nell to protest.

* * *

Eric sat bent over in Nell's small, new, red, smart car. 'I wish you would drive a bit faster - Katie -' he used her cover name for the first time 'or we might find ourselves being late for work'. Nell sighed, irritated and nervous, before replying through gritted teeth 'well, Mike, you could have driven if you wanted to, but I have a feeling that if you tried we would need a crowbar to get you out from behind the wheel' 'Hey!' retaliated Eric, 'I am not that big! You are just tiny!'. As soon as he said that he turned away, gulping. He knew that Nell was nervous; which was probably why she wasn't joking around, and now, after what he had said he- 'and do you have a problem with that? Is that why-' Nell didn't finish her sentence, visually flustered as Eric turned to look at her. He saw how she was upset and said soothingly 'Hey, it's ok... We can do this. You are amazing person and-' Nell pulled up in a parking lot outside of Technologistics and turned to look at Eric 'and so are you, Eric Beale.' she took a deep breath and pursed her lips 'Let's do this.' Eric looked at her and smiled. He realised he did a lot of looking at her- her high cheek bones, her hazel eyes, her hair, gently framing her face, her concentrated- 'Eric!' Nell snapped (but not unkindly), getting out of the car 'stop staring- we need to get inside!' she was secretly flattered that Eric was staring at her, and for the hundredth time that day she adjusted her low necked shirt, and wondered if the clothes that she had been given as part of her cover were the reason for his goggling. She hoped that this was not the case, as she pulled her folders out of the trunk, she wanted him to prefer the cute vintage dresses and blouses that she wore to work normally. Sighing, Nell turned to look up at the grand skyscraper that was to be her work for the next week or so and took a deep breath.

* * *

**PLease comment and let me know what you think! More chapters to come...**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you for** **reading!**

The 'couple' entered the grand building, scanning their entrance cards. They were greeted by a texting receptionist, who jumped up quickly when she saw them and closed down something quickly on her monitor. Although it was suspicious (Eric tapped his button cam to alert the stand in OPS workers of a suspect), Nell was sure it was something more personal. She thought back to the online dating page her sister had made for her, blushing at how embarrassing it was. Pretending to be oblivious to the flustered look on the receptionist's face, Eric said calmly 'hi, we are Mike and Katie Smith, here to start our new jobs as intelligence analyst and assistant analyst?' The receptionist pasted a fake smile on her face before saying 'ah yes, Mr and Mrs Smith from Geotechi, would you like to step this way?'. As they stepped into the mirrored elevator Eric resisted the urge to ask straight out if the receptionist would like to buy some national secrets- damn it was hard being undercover! Nell watched Eric as they go up in the elevator, he was just looking at the receptionist who just stares ahead with a blank and frozen expression. "Er-uh- Mike!" Nell says, trying to stop him from studying the woman, they were supposed to be acting normal! "Mike!"  
"What?" Eric snaps out of it and looks at Nell confused.  
"Doesn't matter," Nell says as the elevator stops and the receptionist exits and motions for them to follow her down a corridor. The long nailed receptionist shows them to a room and knocked on the door, stepping to the side. A short, fat and uninterested man opens it and frowns at the partners. 'What, Stephanie' he growls 'Uh um- Mr Green, these are the Smith couple from Geotechi." the blond receptionist says. The small fat man, now named Mr Green, started to look interested and leered at Nell who began to look panicky as the man looked her up an down. She glanced quickly at his wobbling chins and the unidentifyable stain on his shirt and began to feel violently sick. Seeing his partners look of fear, and feeling a sudden urge to protect her, Eric stepped forward and introduced himself. 'Hello, it is nice to finally meet you in person' ('all of you' he added in his head, trying not to look at the massive stomach bulging dangerously over the too-tight trousers) 'I am Mike Smith, and this is my wife, Katie'. The man stopped staring at Nell and looked at Eric, his facial expression changing from one of pervy lust to that of the serious business man he was meant to be. 'Ahh yes. I have heard lots about you. I believe we have plenty to discuss? About your previous work in Geotechi, if you get my drift...' He winked at Nell before turning to speak to Eric again 'If you would like to follow me... And bring your gorgeous wife?' He waved his hand, wordlessly demanding for Stephanie to leave, before turning on his heels and heading towards an enclosed office area. Nell and Eric looked at each other in horror before following him- they hadn't even got to their desks yet!

* * *

Their first day was hell. The many 'things' that they had had to discuss with Mr Green were not the international secrets that they were hoping for- merely how long Geotechi (the company they had 'previously worked for') gave their employees for a lunch break and what coffee they offered. Although they never got lost (they had both memorised the floor plan before going undercover), they found working in such a big office tiring and confusing compared to the friendly atmosphere and cosiness of OPS. They hadn't gotten any information, and as Mr Green had put them in separate offices it meant that they could only communicate with each other through earwigs. Nell in particular found being under cover infuriating, as Mr Green kept coming into her office and flirting with her. The only way she stayed sane was by listening to Eric's comments on him through her ear wig. Being under cover she had to act coy - Mr Green could still be the person who had shown interest in buying the secrets from the real Smith couple, and she had to get him on her side. Unfortunately for her she felt that he was more than 'on her side', and she wished that she had an over-protective (and possibly jealous?) Eric with her so he could defend her in person. After leaving the Technologistics building at 5, the ride home in the small car was awkward and uncomfortable for both parties. It was mainly silent the whole journey. When they got outside Eric's house, they sat quietly outside, not knowing what to say or do next. Eric broke the impeding silence by saying angrily 'Green is an absolute creep! Did you see the way he was looking at you and how he was talking to you! He is such a-' Nell's loud, tired and helpless sigh interrupted Eric's out of character rant. She knew how horrible Green was and she didn't know how much help working undercover would be to the mission. 'Looking on the bright side, it was nice to be out of ops wasn't it?' she said, not wanting to talk about her new boss as she felt so close to crying. Eric, filled with hate towards Green, continued the rather one sided topic of conversation he had started: 'He was so out of order! We should report him -he was harassing you! He shouldn't be-' 'Eric!' Nell interrupted his angry rave 'There is nothing we can do -ok? We are undercover and we will be made if we report him. I can cope with it anyway. I hate working here, and I know you do too; I hate-' '-but' Eric tried to butt in but Nell was in full rant mode: 'I hate not being able to sit next to you and talk to you and eat Oreos and play Mario Kart after we finished work and I miss just seeing you!' After finishing what she had been distressingly blurting out, she realised the full extent of what she had said and blushed delicately, looking down and removing her hands from the wheel to cover her face. Eric gently lifted her head up with a finger under her chin and used his other hand to pull away her hand from her face. He saw that she had tears in her eyes and it broke his heart. He had never seen Nell cry, she was such a happy person and it was hard to not like her or be unhappy when in her company. 'Hey, please don't cry.' he said, quietly 'we can cope with this- you are Nell Jones; the super intelligent, hilarious, kind and ultra cute intelligence analyst with a really nice face... No no- I don't mean it like that I -oh it doesn't matter- and this is why I lo-' he hesitated as he knew what he was going to say '-why you are my best friend'. Nell sniffled, cleared her throat and wiped her eye with a Kleenex she found in the clean and organised pocket inside the car door. 'Thanks Eric' she mumbled. She was going to say that she had better be going, but Eric leaned over and kissed her cheek before mumbling 'see you tomorrow- Katie' and exiting the car. Nell was left sitting silently in shock as he ran up to the steps leading to his front door, taking them two at a time. She shook herself, telling herself it was only a friendly cheek kiss, and after giving a wobbly wave, started the engine and drove off.


	3. Chapter 3

**I'm still figuring out how this website works...**

The following days were just as hard; Green continued to flirt shamelessly with Nell, Eric only saw Nell at lunchtimes, and they had many banterous conversations to keep themselves sane through their ear wigs. However, a week later early on Monday morning, Nell got a text from Eric just before she left to pick him up saying: 'Hi, could u bring cough syrup if u hav any when u come plz? Got a cold from surfing l8 last night x' after a mental fainting episode due to the kiss at the end, Nell told herself to pull herself together as it was a thing best friends do. She didn't know if it was, the nature of her work didn't allow her many friends and her friends consisted of the people at NCIS. She found a bottle of cherry flavoured cough syrup, and armed with a spoon, made her way to his house in her tiny car. After she had knocked on his door, it took a longer time than normal (Nell had counted, he usually answered within 10 seconds) for him to answer. When the door did finally open, it revealed a disheveled, shuffling, tired and ill looking Eric, with his new work 'uniform' suit and tie, borrowed from Hetty, hanging off his body. He had dark circles under his eyes, and as he went to greet her he had a coughing fit. Nell became protective and an overwhelming caring instinct took her over 'You are not going into work. No arguments.' Eric protested, but finally gave in when she strided purposefully into his house and put the kettle on. 'Go back to bed, Eric. You are more ill than you think and you can't work like this. Go and change into something more comfortable-' she paused, hoping he was too ill to notice her blush, as she realised the slight romantic movie line cliché '- and then when you come down I will have your drink for you.' Eric nodded meekly, but overcome by curiosity asked huskily 'what drink?'. Nell knew the old english recipe off by heart; she had been made it and had made it by and for her sisters ever since she was small. It was a soothing homemade lemon tea, with honey to sweeten. After being told, Eric started to point which drawers held which utensils: 'In there you will find the-' Nell interrupted him '-spoons?' Nell knew her way around his kitchen better than she thought, and through finishing his sentence reassured Eric that she did. Quite impressed that she had memorised the location of everything in his kitchen, even after her having only visited a few times, Eric made his way upstairs. When the drink was ready, Nell stood it on the counter, staring at the hot beverage swirling around in the beaker as she waited for her partner. She was lost in thought when Eric walked into the kitchen, his big-ish footsteps making her jump and look up. Eric wore a tight t-shirt with a science joke on the front and baggy shorts. He wasn't wearing his glasses either; Nell had only seen him a few times without them. With his surfers' body being revealed through the tighter than normal top, and with a fleecy blanket pulled around his body, Nell stood slightly gaping; he was both adorable and super attractive at the same time. Eric felt slightly uncomfortable yet flattered to be the target of someone's staring, and he went an unusual colour of pink and stumbled over his wheezing words 'I- I- Thank you for- um- yanno- making me the drink and being so- uh- nice' Nell mentally scolded herself for being soppy and handed him the drink quickly. She left him with thorough instructions for when and how to take the cough syrup, and briskly ushered him upstairs to rest, trying to cover her embarrassment. Eric got into bed feeling guilty about leaving Nell to go to their new work on her own, and made sure his phone was right by his bed when he went to sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

**I know Nell hasn't ever mentioned a grandparent but...**

Nell arrived at work in a bad mood because she was late. She didn't mind being late because of Eric- she felt that she could be hours late as long as he was ok. However the traffic on the way to the Technologistics office complex was appalling, and it meant she was half an hour later than normal. She slammed the car door shut in an attempt to release some of her anger, but it made her even more angry as the seatbelt had jammed in the door. She growled inwardly, then finally a few moments later made her way into the tall skyscraper. She checked in using her pass card, only to find the elevator broken. After climbing the 8 flights of stairs in Hetty's 4 inch heels, Nell got into her office and was quick to start working. Her day was worse than bad- she had managed to spill her drink over her keyboard for the first time in her life, then when she had followed the post woman out of the office to ask her a few questions, she had heard the door shut behind her and had gotten locked out. After having done about a days worth of fairly hard analytic work in a few hours, to catch up, Nell was starting to calm down a bit. She was worried about Eric, but knew that if she phoned him he would wake, and that he was probably fine. She took a minute to sit back in her oversized desk chair and contemplate how she could interview each member of staff surreptitiously. As she was deciding to go on a round of the offices 'looking for a stapler', Mr Green walked in. She forced her tensed up jaw into a grimace and looked at him. He leered 'how is your day today, Miss Katie Smith?'. Nell tried not to verbally correct him- she was Mrs not Miss. 'I am fine thank you Sir.' 'Are you bored at all? I heard that your husband is sick and I am sure he wouldn't mind you having a bit of fun whilst he isn't here?' The fat, red faced man sat on Nell's desk and winked at her suggestively. To try and stop herself throwing up she pursed her tight, angry lips as though thinking his offer over before disguising her utter disgust in a (what she hoped) casual shake of the head. 'I believe I am fine at the moment thank you Sir...' Mr Green leaned over her desk and grabbed Nell's arm 'Katie, why don't you come with me to my office and we can have this discussion there?' his eyes were filled with horrifying desperation and greed, and as Nell looked away she swore she saw him lick his lips. His hands were hot and sweaty clasped around her wrist, and Nell began to panic. She wished that she could attack him violently like she had been trained to do, but she knew that she risked her cover if she did. Mr Green was still looking at her for an answer when she looked up, so she 'accidentally' kicked his fat, wobbly, pinstripe suit covered shin so that he loosened his grip momentarily on her, and then used the chance to escape, muttering an insincere apology, then something about 'woman's troubles'. She ran down the pristine corridor, trying hard to avoid crying. Being Nell, she could find her way around even though she was half blind due to the unfallen tears blurring her vision. She pushed open the heavy door that led into the 'Ladies Restroom' and ran past the receptionist Stephanie who was having a heated argument on the phone next to the huge mirrors. The distraught analyst slammed the toilet door shut, before sliding down it onto the floor and letting all the built up angst and anger flow free. She hadn't cried like this since her Grandfather had died. The silent tears fell down her face quickly and dripped off her chin.

* * *

Eric had been lying awake thinking about Nell for about an hour when his phone rang, the Dr Who theme making him jump. He had personalised the ring tone a while ago, and he knew it was Nell. 'Hey Nell!' She didn't reply, but he could hear her stifling her sobs. 'Nell? Are you crying? Are you ok? Please talk to m-' 'I can't do this any more Eric.' Nell spoke quietly and coarsely, her voice full of distress. 'What do you mean?' asked Eric, tenderly but with a sense of panic. 'It's too much. I-' Nell sobbed out loud 'I- I can't work here any more.'. Eric felt angry. He didn't know the name of the person to direct his anger at, but he knew it was at whoever had made Nell so upset. He swivelled his legs out of bed and sat up, putting his flip flops on. 'What happened Nell? Please talk to me I -I don't want you to be so upset.' Nell told him what had happened to her that day, leaving out the great finale- her encounter with Green, and he listened carefully. He told her that he wasn't very good at being reassuring, but that everything would be fine and he could contact Hetty tomorrow and ask for their mission to be aborted. He told her that he wasn't very good at giving compliments, but she was one of the strongest and most amazing people he knew, and he was jealous of any man that got to know her. This caused Nell to cry harder and therefore Eric to panic and ask what was wrong. Nell explained (once she had over-apologised for her crying outburst) that she wasn't going to tell anyone about Green, but she decided to trust Eric. Eric listened without interrupting, shocked and furious at what his 'new boss' had done. How dare he do that to his partner? There was silence on the phone for a couple of moments after Nell had finished lengthily explaining. 'Eric? Are you there?' she asked, worriedly. 'One sec...' he said, sounding preoccupied. Nell frowned, tears still rolling down her defined cheek bones. She had just told Eric how Mr Green had (she hated to admit it) almost harassed her, and he couldn't even give a reply? That wasn't like him at all. Then she heard a scream from outside of the cubicle, followed by a slamming of the heavy 'Ladies Restroom' door. 'Uh- Nell, which cubicle are you in?' Eric asked. Nell's eyes widened and she was too stunned and confused to reply. She almost screamed when she saw Eric's head peer over the wall that separated her cubicle from the next one in the row. 'Um, you gonna let me in or do I have to climb over?' he said, his voice still husky from his cold. Nell's face took on a totally bemused expression and she let out a small gasp, which turned into a little giggle. 'Oh... My... Eric?! What are you doing here? This is the Girls toilets!' she exclaimed, still upset but amused, standing up and unlocking the door. Eric jumped down from the toilet seat cover he was standing on and met her outside next to the marble sinks. 'Well, er, you seemed like you needed um..' he trailed off, embarrassed, he had never done the 'rescuing maiden in distress' thing before. he decided to wordlessly explain his (heroic?) actions instead by pulling his petite best friend into a hug. She opened her mouth, as if to speak, but instead decided to rest her head on his chest. She found herself crying loudly again, this time not trying to cover the fact that she was, and although she contemplated pulling away, she decided against it. Nell felt his breath in her hair, and the warmth radiating from his (still pyjama clad) body, and his strong surfer's arms wrapped around her own small ones. And she could hear his heart, beating fast yet regularly. Altogether it was calming and reassuring, and she felt all her anger, hurt and confusion slipping away.


	5. Chapter 5

**Please let me know what you think!**

Nell pulled up outside Eric's house; she had arrived early this morning because the roads were less busy than usual. She took the keys out of the ignition and sat in the quiet car, thinking about the events of the previous day.  
Things had been pretty awkward between them after Eric had pulled away from the gentle embrace, but a part of Nell still wished Eric had done more. After Eric had calmed Nell sufficiently, he had snuck out the back of the skyscraper, still in pyjamas. Nell had used her puffy red eyes from crying to an advantage, and signed out the reception under the pretences of being ill.

She got out of the car, self consciously brushing down her worn-once trousers. As she neared the front door she saw it was ajar, and heard raised voices from inside, followed by a loud bang and then silence. All her training came into play as she reached for her gun from her bra holster and prepared to enter the house.

As she barged into the house, weapon raised, she was startled to see only Eric sat on the couch. She lowered her weapon and walked in, causing Eric to look up, sheepishly. 'Um?' Nell started, worried, yet slightly curious. Eric opened his mouth but didn't reply, only pointing at the mangled pile of metal that looked vaguely like a laptop. All of it's state-of-the-art-ness was gone. Eric let out a barely audible whimper. 'What happened?!' questioned Nell slightly less worried, as she put her gun back down her neat work blouse. Eric paused for a second as he watched her conceal her weapon before blinking and replying: 'I um- was talking- filling in- Hetty via webcam and I asked her about aborting the mission. Cause- yanno- what happened yesterday and stuff. She did that annoying thing of listening and being really calm and then she um- she said no.' Eric looked down, then looked right up into Nell's eyes, suddenly feeling very small sat down. However, he continued 'I am so sorry Nell. I tried- but she said we have to maintain our cover. And now I am in SO much trouble with Hetty because I hung up.' Nell raised her eyebrows at Eric, about to reply when he continued 'Well actually I yelled at her then threw my laptop at the wall, but I'm pretty sure she will be just as mad.' he sighed heavily then looked away again, standing up. Nell knew it was a difficult situation, but she couldn't help smiling slightly at the former laptop. She looked at Eric who was starting to clear the living room and then she said in what she hoped was a calm voice 'Let's not worry about it now. We can talk to Hetty later. We need to get to work anyway.' 'Ok, but I will talk to Hetty later, not 'we'. It was me who got myself on this mess and it will be me who sorts it out.' Eric replied. 'But it is my fault that I got worked up yesterday!' Nell had images of Eric being sacked- she didn't want him to take all the blame. She also knew that Eric must have been really, really angry to have thrown the laptop and she thought it would be best to be with him and Hetty so nothing bad happened again. 'No it wasn't!' contradicted Eric, picking up his borrowed briefcase. Nell saw his jaw tighten and guessed what might come next. Before Eric had a time to start pacing up and down she said gently 'I know Green is a jerk. Believe me, I know. But, maybe possibly it will be fine today. Lets get there first and we will see ok?'. Eric yelled inside- it hadn't been a good day for him so far and he hated the fact that Nell would have to put up with Green for a few more days or even a week more. However he had to keep it together for Nell; yesterday had shown him how fragile she really was under her professional shell, and he wouldn't like to see her upset again. They drove to work in silence, both of them pretending to be fascinated by the non-existant view.

* * *

Every time Nell saw Eric that day (which wasn't often, but was too frequent for embarrassed Nell), she just looked down or became really interested with the something else. She felt awkward after having interrupted his rant to Hetty that morning, and she wished that she could just make the whole situation go away. She managed to hook up a camera on her door, so she could see Mr Green before he came in. This allowed her time to compose herself and prepare for his leering. She was pleasantly surprised when he brought her a cup of tea. She accepted it, hoping that it meant that he would stop harassing her. She chuckled to herself as she sat with her hands around it waiting for it to cool slightly, imagining Hetty's disgust at her drinking tea that was not boiling hot.

Meanwhile, Eric was in his office. He finished filing a pile of files the height of Hetty, but his brain wasn't focused on work. He was sure that Green had given him more work than usual, and his day seemed to be getting worse and worse. he slouched down in his 'ergonomic' back breaking office chair, wishing that he could swap the smart shoes he was wearing for his more comfortable flip flops. Then he thought about Nell, and how he had almost definitely ruined any chance he had of telling her how he felt about her. suddenly overcome by a strong feeling he had never felt before, he stood up and decided to walk to Nell's office and confront her. He needed to apologize for this morning. He missed his best friend.

Nell had finished her up of tea and had been continuing work when she began to get a really strong headache. She thanked herself for being organized, and, blaming the headache on stress, delved into her purse and found an aspirin. She waited 5 minutes but it began to get worse. The office started to spin around her and she began to shiver. The desk began to swing closer then further away from her, and the words on the paper began to blur into one black blob. Terrified, she stood up, almost falling over, and staggered over to her door, grabbing the filing cabinet for support. She forgot how to open her door for a minute, but finally heaved it open. Finding it hard to stand up now, she leant against the wall for support. She wasn't sure what had happened but she needed Eric.

**:O ooohhh nooo Nell**


	6. Chapter 6

**I hate hospitals :P**

Eric strode round the corner of the warren-like office to see Nell leaning against the wall, dry retching. He ran over, shouting her name. She stopped choking then looked at him with her hazel eyes full of fear. 'What happened? Nell? Talk to me! Are you ok? Nell?!' Eric shouted. She opened her mouth to reply but she couldn't seem to be able to say any words. A tear ran down her cheek as she trembled, trying to control the immense feel of nausea that was starting to take over her movements. She toppled forwards, but before she fell to the ground Eric caught her and propped her against the wall. He tried to stay calm, for Nell's sake, and speed dialled Hetty. 'Um, Hetty? We seem to have a problem I- uh- Nell-' Hetty cooly interrupted 'There is already an ambulance on the way Mr Beale. Your button cams were just on as I was just checking up on how you were doing.' 'Hetty, what can I-' Eric stopped as Nell fell forwards onto his chest, floppy like a rag doll, but shaking in a way similar to an excited chihuahua. 'Hetty she is really ill! What should I do!' The small amount of false calm that had been in his voice was gone as Nell collapsed to the floor, seemingly unconscious. 'Mr Beale, the best thing to do is to stay by her side until the ambulance arrives. Stay calm.' Eric was close to tears now: 'Hetty I'm sorry about this morning. I just hated the idea of this operation continuing when we don't have a lead and we have a perverted boss. And now Nell is sick and now I am-' Hetty interrupted Eric 'Mr Beale- is this an 'I told you so'?'. Eric gulped, the phone in his sweaty palm slipping slightly. 'Uh- um...' Nell, whose head was propped up in Eric's lap, stirred, and he was grateful when a few seconds later, paramedics came around the corner of the office, followed by a crowd of Technologistics staff members who had previously been totally uninterested by the two newest members.  
They soon had Nell strapped to a stretcher, and Eric followed them outside to the ambulance, with Hetty still on the phone. He was asking the paramedics lots of questions, as Nell was currently unable to speak, and thus was startled when he heard Hetty talking in his ear, telling him to hang up and stay by Nell's side. It was only then did he realise that he had been pressing the phone to his ear so hard it had left a painful red mark. He quickly scolded himself for complaining about a little bruise, and turned his attention to his best friend, trying desperately to zone out the sirens.

* * *

Eric had stayed with Nell the entire time she was being treated in her deep unconsciousness state. He currently sat by her hospital bed, watching her breath. Looking down at her now, the regular rise and fall of her chest was the only way to know she was alive; her normally cheerful and slightly pink face was colourless and expressionless, her eyelids were firmly shut over her normally wide open and sparkling hazel eyes, and she had many IV drips poking into her arm, which made Eric squirm. The team, including Hetty, had visited an hour earlier, but one of the stand-in analysts had found strange signals coming from the Technologistics building, and as this was their first lead in the case they had to reluctantly leave their 'little sister' to go and investigate (undercover as window cleaners).  
Eric sat in the uncomfortable chair, leaning slightly forward, (meaning that he had to continuously push his glasses back up his nose) thinking about the events of that morning. He was interrupted in his train of thought by a tall, tidy nurse who asked if Eric was Nell's next of kin. Thinking about it only for a second, Eric affirmatively replied, leading the nurse to start chatting about how Nell was doing. He blanked out her voice for a second, thinking about how hard Nell found it in everyday work to keep her job a secret from her actual next of kin's. It was then that he realised that the nurse had stopped talking and was looking at him expectantly, so he asked sheepishly "Sorry, what did the test results show again?" The nurse who was complacent seemed happy to repeat; "Miss Jones has been found to have orally taken a high level of Gamma-hydroxybutyrate, or GHB. Because of her small stature and the extremely high levels ingested, this has induced a temporary unconscious state and explains her shaking and vomiting earlier." Eric thanked the nurse who turned to leave the room before asking "GHB- isn't that used as a 'date rape' drug?"  
The nurse replied that yes, it was commonly used in date rapes, and consequently once Nell woke up she would be quite groggy and wouldn't be able to remember much before or during her unconsciousness. Eric nodded gravely and the nurse left the room. Eric wasn't sure how Nell had taken the GHB, but he knew that she wouldn't have done it on purpose.

About 5 minutes after he had texted the test results to Hetty, Eric saw Nell's eyes move under her eyelids before they finally opened. The chair squeaked on the cold hospital floor as Eric scooted his forward, excited to see Nell awake. She turned her head to look at Eric, her pupils dilated massively as part of a side effect of the drug. Her face expressed panic and bafflement simultaneously, and Eric was quick to lean forward and reassure her. She recognised Eric, and visually began to calm. Eric looked at her and began to speak. "Nell. The nurse just told me that you won't really remember what happens now, so I am going to use this time to tell you how I feel about you without stuttering, being embarrassed or ruining our friendship."


	7. Chapter 7

**I really really hope that there are more Neric scenes in the rest of Season 5... What with Densi being in such a disastrous state and everything :(**

Eric took a deep breath as he looked down at his scared, sick coworker who was currently lying in the hard hospital bed made of stainless steel metal bars.  
"I like you a lot, Nell. You are beautiful and smart and funny and determined and strong and amazing. I like you more than a best friend. But you can't know this, or I couldn't even be your friend. So this is why I am saying it now." Nell opened her mouth, as if to speak, but in her confused drug-induced state no words came out. Instead, a single tear rolled down her cheek. Eric saw how bewildered and frightened Nell looked, but continued; "Whenever I speak to you, make a joke or try to ask you something, I can't talk properly and I go red and I mumble. I always embarrass myself, whereas you are so calm and collected all the time. I even accidentally offend you with what I say, I am so clumsy when I speak. But it is all because I love you, Nell. I love the way we work together. I love us." Eric was now red in the face and Nell was just staring at him, her eyes glazed over. "Ok. So yeh. please get better soon Nell because I... I- yeh." he trailed off at the end of the sentence, took his glasses off and laid his head down onto the starch white sheets of the hospital bed.

**Teeny tiny chapter sorry!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hetty is awesome.**

By the time Nell arrived at work, the original case (about the intel that was up for sale) was closed. It turned out that the receptionist was the person interested in buying the stolen information, as she was part of a South American gang that specialised in pretty nasty bribery. Nell strode confidently into the bullpen, as if she hadn't been drugged and almost sexually assaulted in the last 36 hours. She knew for her sake that it was better to keep up this confident, couldn't-care-less image. She couldn't let herself break down again. However, as she began to briskly jog up the stairs, her satchel swinging at her hips, Hetty stopped her.  
"I don't think so, Miss Jones. You are going to have a short break from work and a stay away from home. Only 2 weeks, not long."  
"But Hetty, I am fine!" Nell argued. She loved her work and she didn't want to be on her own, alone.  
"Frankly Miss Jones, you were drugged, almost sexually assaulted and hospitalised. It is all my fault. You may be fine, but we need to make sure that our top analyst stays fine. So I have sorted it all for you." Nell sighed, she knew she couldn't win against Hetty. She just hoped that whichever drab hotel she was to stay at least served decent food. Or had a vending machine with Oreos for sale. "You are going to be picked up by your elder sister, Lisa, in about 20 minutes." Nell was shocked, but pleased. She hadn't seen Lisa for a long time. "Go and wait next to the bus stop; no need to pack, she has everything sorted for you. I told her that you are going to be on 'stress leave', so expect to be treated a bit oddly." Nell nodded, she knew that she had to keep her career and what had happened a secret from her family, however difficult it may be.

She left, excited and still shocked. Although her thoughts were mainly on logistics and seeing her sister again, she couldn't help thinking about Eric.

**Another short chapter I'm so sorry**


	9. Chapter 9

**Yay for Densi! And Sam and Callen! (I know that Sam and G are a wee bit OOC but I was just having fun forgive me)**

Kensi was driving to pick up her partner, Deeks, with techno music blaring, when her thoughts turned to Eric. Nell had been gone for a week, and since she went, Eric had been plainly miserable. He had stopped his whistling (which he used normally to gain the team's attention) and had resorted to walking down the stairs and quietly mumbling that they had a case. Kensi knew that Nell had a 'thing' for Eric, due to the fact that last time she went out for a night with Kensi she got completely drunk and wouldn't stop talking and giggling about Eric's muscles. Compared to Deek's muscles, Kensi knew that they were most definitely tiny. But at the time she didn't want to rain on Nell's parade, so she left her to continue her giggly, admiring and overexcited gabble. But now she knew Eric had a 'thing' for Nell! Eric definitely missed Nell more than missing a best friend, and she saw herself reflected in him as he walked past everyday, flip-flops flapping and head hanging low. She knew what it was like to miss someone you like a lot. Her rarely used maternal instinct came to her suddenly, and she decided that she would get them together.  
Her silver car pulled up outside Deeks' house, and her stomach fluttered slightly as she saw her partner lopsidedly smile at her before running over to get in. They did their usual greeting ritual "Hey Fern!" Deeks said excitedly.  
"Hey Deeks" Kensi replied less excitedly, punching him lightly in the arm but grinning, before bursting into a heartfelt and rushed explanation about Eric and Nell.  
Deeks listened quietly, and once Kensi finished said "So you want us to hatch a plan to get the Wonder Twins together? Is this what I am hearing? You want to make Neric happen!" Kensi smiled at the name 'Neric', then nodded sheepishly. She had never done matchmaking before, and she hoped that her partner wouldn't ridicule her idea, and would help. "Ok, sure! I mean, it wouldn't hurt to try and help would it? And even I have to agree that they have almost as much chemistry as us..." he winked, and Kensi gripped onto the steering wheel, blushing slightly. "Deeks-" she turned to her partner and gave him a warning glare.  
The rest of the journey was spent plotting.

* * *

Once they had arrived at work, Deeks and Kensi had decided what to do about miserable Eric. They didn't have a case that day, so the time was spent completing paperwork. Eric sat at the desk to the side of the bullpen, playing video games. However, he had none of his usual competitive enthusiasm, instead he was slumped over at the keyboard, checking his phone every 10 minutes.  
Kensi and Deeks shared glances across the open plan workspace. Deeks nodded at Kensi, who stood up and said "Sam, Callen, I got some heavy boxes in my car, can you come help?" neither Callen nor his partner looked up but Callen said:  
"Later Kens... Kinda busy right now. Anyway, can't you ask the little scruffy pony over there?" Deeks narrowed his eyes at Callen, but to no avail- he was focused on the forms on his desk. Deeks turned to Kensi and she rolled her eyes upwards I'm exasperation; this was meant to be the easy part!  
"Nah, he pulled a muscle this morning..." Kensi said, "_C'mon_ guys! Just 3 boxes!"  
Sam took a deep sigh then, getting to his feet, said to Callen "Come on G, it'll only take a minute..." Kensi smiled at them both manically, before leading the reluctant pair out of the room. Meanwhile, Eric looked at his phone for the hundredth time that day. Seeing there were no messages, he sighed sadly then continued to drive his virtual car across the computer screen. He was upset- Nell hadn't even said good bye!

"Hey, Eric" Eric jumped, startled by the fact that someone was addressing him. He turned to look at the owner of the drawling voice. Deeks smiled at him, kindly. He knew who Eric wanted a text from. "You wanna go down to the beach tonight? Gonna be some good ones!" Deeks said. Eric thought about surfing for the first time in a week; since Nell had left to go and stay with her sister, he hadn't thought of anything else but her. "Uh... I don't know Deeks..." Eric said, unsurely.  
"C'mon man! It's gonna be great! There is nothing like a bit of sea air to clear your thoughts!" Deeks said encouragingly again, his face open and questioning. Eric looked down at his phone again, before looking up at Deeks. He decided he needed to do something to help him forget his thoughts, his feelings.  
"Ok, uh, yeh. Sounds good." Deeks smiled and nodded at Eric  
"Great! see you tonight at 9? Come to mine, you can use my new Australian import sex wax." Eric smiled at his friend and nodded, before saying "Sounds cool" and turning back to his game.

Deeks turned back to his work and smirked; his part of the plan was finished. Just then, Kensi walked back in, sniggering. Sam and Callen were nowhere to be seen. Deeks looked at his partner, alarmed. "Uh, Kensi? What was in those boxes of yours?" he asked, cautiously. Kensi grinned at Deeks before replying:  
"Matchbox toy cars- 3492 of them."  
Deeks opened his mouth to ask where on earth did she get 3492 small metal toy cars, but he suddenly heard a "**_G!_**_" _and looked at his partner with wide, amused, and slightly scared eyes before standing up and jogging to the source of the shout, in the gym. Kensi followed quickly behind her partner, still laughing. As they reached the doorway Kensi stopped giggling momentarily and whispered urgently to Deeks "Have you done it? Has he agreed?" Deeks turned around to his partner and smiled-  
"It's all sorted Fern" he said, winking at her then promptly receiving a sharp dig into his ribs.  
Whilst recovering from the painful but deserved elbow jab, Deeks looked into the gym and burst out laughing, because Sam and Callen were sat on the floor in the middle of the room, playing with the thousands of cars, smashing them together in massive pile up crashes and chasing each others cars around in screeching circles.


	10. Chapter 10

**Yay for Densi (again!)!**

**I have no idea what it is like to be drunk so...**

Eric knocked on Deeks' door at exactly nine that evening. He thought of Nell as he did- she was always on time to the precise second. Thinking about Nell made him smile momentarily, before remembering how sad she made him. When Kensi opened the door wearing a thigh length black sequinned dress and really high heels, Eric was slightly taken aback. 'Uh... Umm... I didn't know you two were- uh- hanging out... Sorry... I was just- I was just popping by... I'll just leave now...' He mumbled, shocked  
'Wohhhh Eric! You've got the wrong idea my friend... We _are_ gonna be hanging out, but you are coming with us!' Eric stepped backwards in shock, tripping over the small step that led up to the covered porch.  
'No no it's fine I gotta go home and- uh- do  
stuff' he trailed off and turned to leave, but Deeks appeared behind Kensi and said  
'Eric! Look at you man- you're a mess! You have been so depressed so we organised this to cheer you up; at least come with us to have one drunk tonight...'  
Eric half smiled at the partners, before saying 'That's really nice guys, but I'm not... really wearing anything suitable-' he looked down at his flip flop clad feet and his baggy board shorts 'and you know I just remembered I need to do some work stuff'  
Eric turned around again as if to walk away before Deeks repeated 'It's just one drink? Pleeeaaasseee?! We know that you're upset because-' Kensi stood on Deeks' foot, causing him to take a sharp breath 'Well we don't know why, but we are your friends, and it's our job to make you happy again.' Eric turned around again and looked Deeks directly in the eye 'Alright. But just one drink Deeks, no more than that ok?'  
The shaggy detective grinned and said 'Alright...'

* * *

A couple of hours later, at the bar, Eric was already drunk. Kensi and Deeks had only had a couple of beers each, but they knew that Eric would have to become very unknowingly intoxicated if their plan was to work. Eric nudged Deeks and slurred loudly '_Thish ish fantashtic. Thank you sho much you are sho nice'_ he giggled in a high pitched tone that neither Kensi nor Deeks had heard before _'and you are amazing. An' Kenshi- she ish amazing. I AM AMAZING!'_ He yelled across the busy room, but (fortunately) his enthusiastic words were lost in the vibrant buzzing of happily drunk strangers clinking glasses and the thumping of some unidentifiable top 100 track in the background. Eric then began to move his limbs awkwardly and out of time to the music, a grin on his face. Deeks looked over at Kensi, who was laughing at Eric's totally uncharacteristic behaviour in her wide mouthed, happy eyed, relaxed laugh. He smiled and admired her in her happy carefree state for a few seconds, loving the way her hair swished in the multicoloured lights. Upon turning back to Eric, Deeks saw that he had turned a peculiar shade of green but was still dancing to the music happily. He leant back on his stool to tap Kensi on the shoulder and shouted over the sound  
'_Time for action! He is going to chuck cookies any minute now and this is an expensive shirt...' _  
Kensi smiled before replying_ 'Ok, you distract him while I get the phone, then take him to the loo for a good 10 minutes. Knowing Eric he probably has a really complicated password or something...' _  
Deeks nodded and turned to Eric._ 'How you feeling, buddy?' _he shouted, to distract him. Eric gave his ecstatic reply containing a few hiccups whilst Kensi snuck his phone out from his baggy shorts pocket. Once Deeks saw his partner's thumbs up from her half crouched position under the table, he interrupted Eric's raving_ 'Hey, I don't feel too great, lets go to the men's room.' _  
Eric obliged, too intoxicated to notice the absence of his expensive Windows phone or the fact that it was himself who wasn't feeling too great.


	11. Chapter 11

**I feel so sorry for Eric in this chapter...**

**Please excuse the strange formatting of the second part, it is meant to be like a phone?**

Eric threw up for the fourth time into the toilet bowl. The men's room was quieter than the bar, and although you could still hear the thudding bass from the music, the sound of Eric's retching echoed loudly around the filthy, empty room. Deeks stood outside the door to the cubicle, twiddling Eric's glasses in his fingers awkwardly. He hadn't meant for Eric to get _this_ drunk. He and Kensi had only wanted to be able to get access to his phone without getting their arms bitten off! 'You ok Eric?' he called, but his question was answered by the deposition of more cocktails from Eric's stomach into the toilet. Deeks cringed, but he knew that tomorrow Eric wouldn't be able to remember much of the night anyway. Drunk Eric was amusing, with his loud and dramatic disposition. However, Deeks would be happy to have his sober friend back, as long as he was more cheerful.

Meanwhile, Kensi had managed to access Eric's phone. After trying some more complex passwords, she typed in the last option 'OREOS', and was surprised to find it actually worked; having expected their computer guru friend to have a much more complicated password. However, as she thought about it, she realised that he didn't need a complex password as he always kept his phone in his sight.

Logging onto his messages, Kensi saw that there were a number of drafts that had never been sent. Curious, she tapped onto drafts, but as she read the messages tears began to roll down her cheek.

* * *

_Drafts_:

_'Nell. I'm awkward and rubbish at saying things like this face to face, so here goes. I really really like you. I like the time we spend together more than anything in the world and you are always so happy. I think you are beautiful. I think you are funny. I think you are the best thing that has ever happened to me. I think I might love you. -Eric'_

_'You make me smile, blush, laugh, work harder, be more 'competitive', be happy. You are amazing Nell and I lo'_

_'WHY THE FUCK CAN'T YOU TELL HER ERIC YOU IDIOT'_

_'When you brought medicine this morning I thought that I could cope but I couldn't. My heart beat harder, I blushed like a girl, I got my croaky words mixed up. And I know that you are at work right now but I want you to know that I '_

_'I can't believe you were so sad today Nell I felt so stupid and helpless. You are never sad. This is not the Nell I know and love.'_

_'I AM GOING TO FUCKING KILL GREEN THAT BASTARD HOW CAN HE DO THIS TO YOU?'_

_'You burst in today, with your gun up ready to defend me. But I can't stop people from hurting you. They hurt you Nell. And here you are, lying on the hospital bed with tubes sticking out of you. I just blurted my heart out to you and you can't hear a word of it. I love you Nell Jones. But I let you get hurt. So I know you can't .and will never love me. For starters it's my fault that you got into this state. I don't blame you. I'm a weak, stupid and unworthy man. I'm sorry Nell.'_

_'I love you -Eric'_

_'Nell Jones I am in love with you.'_

_'You are so beautiful I look forward to seeing you every day at work. Normal work. Work were I can't let you get hurt'_

_'I am so weak I am crying. I, Eric Beale, am crying. You have gone to stay with your sister for 'a few' weeks and I didn't get to say good-bye. And I'm such an idiot I didn't get to say 'I will miss you' or ' Look forward to having you back, partner.' or 'Will text you?'. Because I WILL miss you. I DO look forward to having you back. And if I was a completely different person, who could actually communicate his feelings normally I WOULD text you. But I can't and you are gone now. -Eric Beale, your partner'_

_'Come back Nell Jones. I miss you.'_

_'I don't think I can cope at work without you working by my side. My whole world is crumbling. I'm so sorry.'_

_'I love you.'_


	12. Chapter 12

**:'( Nawww Eric**

Kensi read the last text with tears racing down her cheeks. She had to use all of her power to not let out a sob. She had realised that Eric had feelings for Nell, the way he stared at her for a long period of time, the gifts that he bought her, the awkward school-boy mask around her. However, she hadn't realised just how much he loved her. How much he hid away. How much he cared. Her thoughts ran to her 'r word' with Deeks, the way that they never admitted their 'thing', the way they too kept things hidden. But quickly she shook herself and wiped away the tears that soaked her face, whilst reminding herself of the job at hand.  
Kensi opened up a new message and began to type, having already planned out what she was going to say.  
'Nell. I miss you. I miss us.  
-Eric Beale, your partner xox'  
She took a moment to read the short text and smiled at herself. 'Neric' was going to happen. The phone let out a small beep as she sent the text off, and she quickly locked it and flipped the case back over. Looking over to the toilets she saw Deeks almost carrying Eric, who was not passed out, but was pretty unaware of his surroundings. Deeks grinned at Kensi before looking at Eric and back at her, pulling a confused expression. She smiled and took the fact that Eric looked like he was about to vomit as a sign to hope off her bar stool smoothly and head towards the door.  
She caught up with the bumbling pair easily, even though they were a distance away across the busy dance floor, and the stilettos she was wearing were not made for walking in. It might have been because Deeks had to walk slowly and support the ill Eric, or it might have been because the entire male population on the dance floor parted to the side whilst staring at Kensi striding, with her long tanned legs and swishing hair.  
Once outside in the cool refreshing night air, Kensi slipped Eric's phone into his board shorts, giving Deeks a thumbs up, before she and her partner managed to fit the recumbent limbs of the floppy Eric into a taxi, sitting in the adjacent seats one each side, to prop him up.

**Yet another short chapter sorry...**


	13. Chapter 13

**Eeeeewwww vomit.**

Eric woke up in his bed with his head pounding. He opened his eyes a fraction, but the early morning light was too much for his retinas and he promptly shut them, groaning slightly. He had no recollection of the night before past the 3rd drink. Suddenly, a sour, putrid smell entered his nostrils, and he opened his eyes again, grimacing, before looking down to find vomit all over his top. He groaned even louder. He hated being drunk, he knew that he did stupid things without even realising. He had always been the entertainment at college parties, and not in a good way. He shuddered, remembering the number of times he had to scrub at his forehead to remove an unscientific scrawl of part of a mans anatomy. Turning onto his side carefully, he reached for his phone which was on his bedside table. He had 2 texts. He read the first one whilst squinting at the bright screen:

'Hey man, great night last night! Hope ur ok? Kensi only reminded me on the way back about putting u in the recovery position- if you have choked to death on your own chunks ring me ok? And I told Hetty u were sick don't worry.' -Deeks

Deeks' last sentence prompted Eric to look at the clock, which showed that it was 2pm already. Eric's heart then skipped when he saw who the next text was from:

'I miss you too. Been thinking about Us. -Nell Jones, your partner x'

At first he grinned, she had finally texted him! Then he saw that there was the word 'too' after the 'I miss you'. Eric began to panic, and scrolled up the text conversation to see that he had sent a text to her. He frowned, the text he had sent was not in his usual 'style' and he didn't remember sending it. However, he didn't remember anything from the night before, and maybe drunk Eric had a way with words.

* * *

Nell sat on the edge of her bed nibbling her lip and staring at her phone which was gripped in her hand. She had sent the text to Eric just before lunch and she hadn't got a reply yet, which was making her anxious. What if his text to her had been a mistake? It was unlike Eric to openly show his emotions like this. Maybe someone else had sent it? Nell quickly discarded this idea- she knew well enough that Eric never let his phone out if his sight, let alone let someone else use it. But maybe Eric sent it as a joke? It seemed like a genuine text? And he added kisses on the end! The kisses that, when she reread the text, made her heart flutter.  
It was all so confusing, she wanted it to be true, which might have been why she replied.

Lisa, Nell's older sister, knew that something was wrong when Nell had barely eaten a forkful of the creamy, gooey macaroni cheese that she had made from scratch for lunch. Nell usually devoured her sister's macaroni and cheese, claiming it was the most delicious and the only one she liked. Lisa knew that Nell was on stress leave, and had noticed a gloominess about her the few times she had spoken to her (Lisa had been letting Nell have some space). However, today Nell had been acting especially troubled; no matter how hard she tried to hide her emotions, her older sister could always tell how she was feeling. So when Nell's bowl was left full with cheesy pasta, Lisa decided to take action.

She burst into Nell's room to find her younger sister hunched up at the end of her bed, staring at her phone.  
"Hey little Nelly, what's up?" Lisa asked, trying to keep her voice upbeat.  
Uncharacteristically for Nell, she promptly burst into large uncontrollable sobs.


	14. Chapter 14

**Gah the feels... That kiss...**

As Nell sobbed into her elder sister's shoulder morosely, 100 miles away Eric was having a shower. The water pounded against his back as memories poured through his brain. Sad, happy and funny memories. He reached for his shampoo and poured a small pool into the palm of his hand. He rubbed it into his hair, creating foam that smelt slightly like the ocean. As he allowed the water to wash the bubbles out of his hair, he remembered that moment on Christmas Eve, when time stopped.

"...if you want to be politically correct." Nell had said, but Eric could not concentrate on anything but her face. He had stared at her lips, bright red, her cheeks, slightly flushed, and her eyes, twinkling in the low light. And in that pause he felt like the luckiest man in the world to work with such a beautiful person. But then he became luckier.

Eric shook some shower gel into his hand and rubbed it over his body, distracted thinking about when Nell had kissed him. He cursed inwardly at not continuing it- he hadn't even taken his hands out of his pocket! Eric remembered the gentle warmth of her lips, and the way she pulled his head towards hers. It happened so quickly, yet Eric could remember every little detail. The way she had looked up at the mistletoe afterwards, her eyes smiling.

Eric stepped out the shower and dried himself off, recalling the events after the kiss. He had changed into an identical elf costume that was equally ridiculous, but a bit larger. He remembered reluctantly pulling on his lime green leggings and grabbing his ears and pompon hat before racing out to Nell's car. Unlike the memories of the kiss, Eric struggled to recall the exact proceedings of that night as it was such a blur. However, he remembered the smiling faces that he saw, the many children's and Nell's, and he knew that he was having the best night of his life, even though nothing more had happened between him and Nell.

Now fully dressed and no longer smelling like vomit, Eric sat on his rumpled duvet staring down at his phone again.

* * *

Unable to think of any other excuse for her spontaneous crying, Nell explained her situation with Eric to her sister. However, she had to leave out lots of details, like the fact that she worked for a government agency as a top analyst and that she was training to become an agent. Or the entire calamity with Mr Green and the sexual harassment charges. Or that she had been lying to her family about key information for the last 5 years. So Nell explained her situation, but by doing so it sounded as though she was over reacting a lot. However Lisa was kind, calm and non-judgemental, and she listened to her younger sister's sad love-story quietly and patiently. Once Nell had finished, Lisa gave her verdict:

"I think that you should go back to work as soon as possible."

Nell blinked and looked at her sister questioningly. "Bu-"

Lisa continued "Nothing will get right if you stay here! You need to talk to this co-worker of yours and sort it out. Whoever he or she is, the only way you can find out what they really think is by asking them! You are good at reading people Nelly- you can find a whole lot more about what they feel by talking to them face to face. Just make sure that you don't speak in code. Stop being so cryptic with this coworker. It sounds to me like you both need to just spell out what you feel clearly!"

Still uncertain, Nell said "But what about my boss?"

"I will phone her right now and get her to allow you to go home, I will say that you can work part time instead of a full stress leave."

Although Nell was not sure how Hetty would take it, and she knew she would hate not being able to work proper hours, she was extremely grateful to her sister who had put up with her moping and hiding away over the past week or so despite having not seen Nell in a few months. She nodded and smiled in thanks, and was about to hug her older sister when Lisa gasped and raised her hands in concern.

"The 'coworker' isn't your boss is it?! Because Nell if this is the case maybe you shouldn't go back to that job. A relationship with your boss is not a good relationship to be in! I did it before. I got sacked when we broke up. I really don't want you to be in-"

Nell smiled reassuringly at her sister, holding back a giggle "No he isn't my boss. Don't worry Liss!" then she hugged her, showing just how happy she was to have the enormous weight lifted off her shoulders.  
Lisa whispered into Nell's comfy hoody "Now go get 'im Nelly".

**Please let me know what you think!**


	15. Chapter 15

**Hope you can keep up with the dialogue? Wrote this whilst on a sugar high soooo...**

"We have been together longer than you."

"Yeh, well I bet you two have never slept in the same bed? Actually I don't want to know."

"We don't argue as much as you two do."

"Take that back! Hey, back me up here partner- we don't argue as much as they do do we?"

"We argue."

"That is not really helping our cause, princess. Okay what I mean is they argue too."

"We never said we didn't argue! Just said you two do it more..."

"Well you two haven't been-"

Deeks was cut off from his argument with Sam, Callen and Kensi by Hetty clearing her throat on the way past. She gave them all a stern look, and they all looked back down at the piles of paperwork at their desks.  
Hetty sat down at her own desk and surveyed the workspace, bubbling with sounds. She looked over at Eric and immediately knew that she had made the right decision. He was slumped at his desk, coffee at his side, typing slowly and unenthusiastically. She had known that Eric would be upset with his partner temporarily away, but she was irritated at herself for not foreseeing just how sad he would be. Her thoughts were interrupted as Deeks continued the argument, seemingly unaware that he was being watched.

"-well that's stupid. I know that it has changed now!" he said, passionately.

"Um, hi guys" Nell had not been noticed walking into the bullpen. She wore a cute blue dress and had a brown leather satchel balanced on her shoulder, and she was wearing a smile, something that made the bickering partners smile them selves as they looked over to her. Kensi spoke first:

"Nell! It's so good to see you back! I thought you weren't going to be back until the end of next week?"

"Well Hetty let me come back to work part time until then." Nell said, smiling and hugging her taller brunette friend.

Deeks, Callen and Sam joined in with the hugging and greetings, and were just informing her on a case when Eric let out an uncharacteristic stream of expletives from the corner. Everyone turned to look, and Eric was nowhere to be seen. The team, including Nell, walked curiously over to his messy workspace to find him on the floor under his desk, scrubbing furiously at the increasing pool of dark brown coffee with a tiny napkin from a fast food chain. He was bright red in the face as he looked up at the group of 5 stood next to him. "Uh... Split my uh coffee when I saw... Hi Nell... Need to clean up..."

Nell grinned down at her partner, happy to see him after what seemed like a millennium. She took a deep breath and looked up at the roof before looking directly at Eric and saying "I need to talk to you. In the file room. Now." She bit her lip, nervous.  
But before Eric could reply, Callen interrupted.  
"Shouldn't Eric clean up first and we can finish briefing you?" But Callen promptly received glares from Sam, Kensi and Deeks and changed his mind: "Actually Eric, you go and we'll, uh, clean up for you."

Kensi nodded at Eric  
"Yeh that sounds like a plan! Off you go!"

Eric looked around at the 4 eager faces before his eyes landed on Nell. Nell took a deep breath in and blinked at Eric, before turning her back and walking briskly to the file room, leaving her satchel on Kensi's desk.  
Eric mumbled "Thanks" before standing up and following her.


	16. The End!

**THE LAST CHAPTER**

As Eric joined Nell in the file room he shut the door gently behind him. The room was silent, and as Eric turned to face Nell he broke the silence.

"I- uh. It's nice to have you back. I... I missed-"

Nell looked straight into Eric's eyes and interrupted him. "Please Eric, I need to talk."

Eric looked at the floor then up at Nell, nodding his head a fraction, just enough for Nell to see. His lips were parted ever so slightly, but he knew not to speak any more. Nell had a determined look in her eyes.

She started to talk "I heard you talking to me, that night in the hospital." Eric turned red, and opened his mouth wider as if to talk, but Nell continued. "I like you Eric Beale. I like you a lot, too. I like Us. You are funny, clever, dorky, adorable and way better than Oreos. I wish that there was mistletoe right here right now."

Nell looked down cursing inwardly at herself. Her sisters words came into her head "...stop being so cryptic...". she had ruined it now. She had told him how she felt, but made it too confusing with that at-

Nell's thoughts were interrupted as Eric took a step closer to her and tilted her face up gently to look at his with his hands. She blinked up at him, confused.

"Let's scrap the mistletoe shall we?" Eric said, almost whispering, before leaning forward and capturing her lips in his. Eric could taste Oreos and Nell could taste coffee, and as they kissed they realised that their feelings were most definitely mutual.

**IF ONLY THE PRODUCERS WANTED NERIC TO HAPPEN AS MUCH AS ME**

**but they don't**

***goes away to sob for eternity***

**Thanks for reading! Please review if you want to procrastinate even more! (If that is what you are doing right now)**


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